


the seasons have changed (and so have we)

by cathect



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Role Reversal, Season Six Spoilers, post-season six healing, sheith is on the rise ladies, sort of a fix-it fic but not entirely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-17
Updated: 2018-06-17
Packaged: 2019-05-24 11:43:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14954040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cathect/pseuds/cathect
Summary: -Things never go back to normal— not really, anyway.-or, what happens after.[contains spoilers for season six]





	the seasons have changed (and so have we)

**Author's Note:**

> okay, so this is basically my "what happened after the season six finale" fic. it basically follows the idea that, because keith got aged up two years and because shiro is getting used to being alive again, their dynamic has sort of flipped on its head. that's why it's tagged as "role reversal."
> 
> big thank you to han, sarah, and erin (of course) for reading through and editing and for saying so many wonderfully kind things about this fic. i love you guys so much.

It’s different now than it was before.

And it’s not just Shiro’s hair, or his new arm, or the _body_ that isn’t really his— though, God knows those are pretty big changes, no matter how small they appear. No, it’s none of those things. It’s Shiro himself.

He struggles at first, but that’s to be expected. He’s been without a physical body for a long time, and getting used to it again is hard. He takes to walking easily enough, and the new arm that Pidge built him has been working perfectly. After a while, he can eat normal foods without throwing them up, and Hunk cooks his favorite meals every night for a week straight. It’s good. It’s really good.

But, it’s also not.

There are times when Shiro doesn’t feel right. The body he’s in is an exact clone of his original one, a perfect duplicate, yet it still never feels like he fits. It’s like a lung transplant that didn’t take. He wants it to work, _needs_ it to. It just _doesn’t_.

More than once, he’s found himself standing in front of the floor-length mirror in his bathroom, looking himself over as best he can. He finds a few scars that he can’t quite place— wounds that must’ve happened when that other thing inhabited this body. Sometimes he just plain doesn’t recognize the man in his reflection, and that’s almost more terrifying than being dead.

The team is understanding about all of it, even when he knows it doesn’t make any sense to them. Shiro was the leader, and then he died. And now he’s not so sure where he fits into the equation anymore, so he takes himself out of it completely. Keith leads Voltron as the Black Paladin for the time being— or maybe forever; Shiro really doesn’t know— and the others look to him as their leader without issue. Keith takes charge like he was born to do it and, in a way, Shiro thinks he was.

That’s another thing that’s different: him and Keith.

Shiro isn’t afraid to say that there was always something between them. He’s really not. But, between Voltron and the fate of the universe resting on their shoulders, there was never really any time. At least that’s what he thought, but dying really puts things into perspective, and now Shiro curses every moment he didn’t spend telling Keith how much he means to him.

But even that’s changed, he thinks. The _something_ between them. Keith always looked up to him before, always thrived under his leadership and preened under his attention. But he’s older now, _stronger_ , and it turns something in Shiro’s stomach every time he sees him. Not in a bad way, just different.

Shiro’s never been the one who needed guidance. He’s always been the oldest, the stand-in big brother, the mentor. That was just his lot in life, and he was content to take it. Now he clings to Keith like he might fall apart if he doesn’t have him there to keep him steady.

Luckily, Keith seems all too happy to never leave his side. Everywhere Shiro goes, Keith is a step behind in case he needs to catch him. He sits through every physical therapy appointment and training session without complaint, no matter how long they take. He’s always awake when Shiro can’t sleep, and doesn’t say a word when he cries— and Shiro cries a lot these days. He’s there, without fail, every time Shiro thinks he might need him, and every time he doesn’t, too.

He’s there the first time that Shiro tries to fly Black again.

She’s been a bit apprehensive towards him, which is understandable considering she went such a long time thinking it was him flying her, even though it wasn’t. She’s grown accustomed to Keith and, when Shiro takes the controls again, he can feel the hesitation in the way she moves. It almost makes him not want to try. Maybe this part of his old life isn’t meant to be part of the new one too. But Keith is there, a hand on his shoulder and a smile on his face, and it gives Shiro the push he needs.

It doesn’t go as well as they hoped: there’s a bit of a delay between Shiro internally giving commands and Black following through with them, and they almost crash a couple of times. Keith never panics, even when Shiro does, and he’s pretty sure that’s the only reason that Black doesn’t give up and chuck him out like last week’s garbage.

Shiro feels like himself again, flying Black with Keith by his side. Even if it doesn’t go as smoothly as it could, it gives him hope that maybe things will eventually feel okay again.

He kisses Keith that day, after they land. Keith is laughing, raving about how good Shiro did and how proud he is, and Shiro just can’t _help_ himself. Not with the way Keith’s praise sends a thrumming under his skin; it flows like an uncorked bottle of champagne, buzzing and so sweet that Shiro might be a little drunk on it.

He cuts Keith off in the middle of a sentence, wrapping a hand around the back of his neck and pulling him in. Keith doesn’t hesitate before he kisses him back and, even though Shiro always thought _he’d_ be the one pressing _Keith_ into a wall, he’s not complaining that it’s happening this way.

Keith is taller than he used to be. It’s only by a couple of inches, and it doesn’t totally bring them eye-to-eye, but it’s enough for Shiro to melt under his touch like he’s sixteen again. Keith makes him feel safe relinquishing control, like he won’t take advantage of that trust, like he won’t take advantage of anything Shiro gives him.

Things never go back to normal— not really, anyway. And Shiro doesn’t think they were ever meant to.

Shiro’s still the Black Paladin, that much is the same. But Lance and Red have formed their own bond, and nobody wants to kick Allura out of Blue. There’s a bit of maneuvering, a little bit of switching around, but eventually it’s settled. Keith and Shiro will fly Black together, and that’s good. Fantastic even, because everybody still looks to Shiro as their leader. They still expect him to make decisions and to decide what’s best for the group. And when everyone looks to Shiro, Shiro looks to Keith.

Keith never makes him feel lesser for it. He never looks at Shiro with pity or sadness or anything short of love. In fact, some days it feels like the way Keith _does_ look at him is the glue that holds all of Shiro’s broken pieces together. Like Keith the only thing keeping him afloat when the world is trying its hardest to drag him under.

So, it’s different now than it was before, but maybe that’s okay. Maybe it’s just as good.

**Author's Note:**

> come visit me on tumblr @devilstrip!
> 
> and, as always, leave me a comment letting me know what you thought because i need validation and attention to live!


End file.
